FutureGen: Leading the way to a Cleaner and Greener Future

FutureGen is the name of the project being funded by the United States Department of Energy, as well as twelve other companies, dedicated to both finding a cleaner method of fossil fuel-driven energy production, as well as beginning the weaning away from the use of non-renewable resources all together. The project, initiated by President Bush's Hydrogen Fuels and Climate Change initiatives, will culminate in the construction of a prototype energy-production plant which is currently expected to be operational by the year 2013.

This plant will be unique in several ways. Firstly, while it will be a coal-driven plant, it will not contribute to pollution by way of harmful emissions, as do virtually all systems which rely on coal as their primary fuel source. Indeed, the plant proposed by FutureGen will be almost completely without emissions due to a revolutionary new method of harvesting the energy stored in coal; instead of being burned directly, the coal will be "gasified", and the resulting products of the gasification process will be used as the direct fuel for electricity production.

Gasification is a reaction that converts coal into a gas which can be cleaned of sulfur (this by-product can be marketed for various uses) to yield mostly hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This combination, known as syngas, is then made to react with steam producing more hydrogen and carbon dioxide. True, carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, but whereas it might normally be a harmful pollutant to be added to the atmosphere, in the case of FutureGen, this gas will be pumped underground into a salt-water reservoir. This is an extremely environmentally friendly method for disposing of this potentially harmful bi-product, as salt water deposits in the earth are not only prolific, but almost entirely useless to both human industry and the ecosystem. Therefore, FutureGen is proposing both a greener method of harvesting the energy from coal as well as an earth-healthy way to dispose of waste gases.

However, the use of fossil fuels is something from which we must begin to free ourselves all together. Not only do fossil fuels typically produce a great deal of harmful emissions which contribute to air pollution and acid rain, but fossil fuels are non-renewable. Basically, there is only so much of this stuff available on the planet, and when the last of it is used, it is truly gone. And so the plant's use of hydrogen as its main fuel source is a progressive step towards a cleaner and more efficient future. Hydrogen is clean burning, holds huge potential in the area of energy harvesting and is also the most abundant of all the elements, meaning we are not in danger of running out any time soon! Hydrogen will be what is burned to turn electricity-producing (275 megawatts) turbines at the FutureGen plant, resulting in a much cleaner method of harvesting the energy present in coal, and also opening the door for further research into using hydrogen as a major fuel source in the future.

In short, FutureGen is a huge step towards a greener future, combining the human need for energy with the global need for a more environment-conscious society. However, it should be kept in mind that this plant is the first of its kind - a prototype - and so it must prove itself in order to set an example for future power-plants. Of course, even if FutureGen does succeed, the widespread employment of this type of plant on a global or even national level is many years in the future. Still, progress is progress, and the future is already looking a bit greener!

For more information on FutureGen, check out their website as well as the FutureGen factsheet.

Other interesting research: the ratio of coal to power produced in the FutureGen plant as opposed to the typical coal-burning power-plant. I was unable to find any specific numbers, but there is a small Paragraph under FutureGen's FAQ page stating that the process of removing carbon dioxide will reduce efficiency of the plant. This is just one more area of experimentation which needs to be felt out by the new FutureGen plant.